Before the Chime of Thirteen
by Vampire Dragon Fairy
Summary: Cinderella as if told by the characters from the Underground


_The silk skirt of the silver dress settled around my feet. I did not know why The Prince would take me, out of all the girls at the ball, with him on a walk in the garden. For that matter I did not understand why he only danced with me since the moment I set foot in the ball room of the castle. The Prince led me through an intricate labyrinth of hedges, statues, and walls until we came to a beautiful peach tree laden with plump, ripe fruit._

 _I turned toward him and looked into his mismatched eyes, one blue and the other green. "My prince," I began only to have him cut me off with a gloved finger to my lips._

 _"Jareth. Call me Jareth." He removed his hand to allow me to speak._

 _"Jareth, why did you bring me here?" He laughed lowly and moved me toward a low stone bench under the peach tree. I sat when he gestured for me to do so and fiddled nervously with an edge of one layer of the gown Hoggle had made for me._

 _The Prince took my hand. "My lady, may I ask for your name before I answer your question?" He looked at me imploringly._

 _"Sarah. Sarah is my name." I ducked my head at my simple name._

 _I felt fingers under my chin that compelled me to look up at their owner. "Your name is nothing to be ashamed of." He took my hands in both of his. Then, to my surprise, he knelt down on one knee before me in a shimmer of blue from his jacket and a flurry of blond hair. "Sarah, I am asking you to be my bride. Fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave."_

 _Before I could even think of an answer the clock on the palace church struck the first chime of thirteen o'clock. I yanked my hands back from his and raced toward the exit from the Labyrinth. The Prince called after me and I ran faster. He could not see me when the magic Hoggle put into the dress faded and it became my normal rags again. An exposed root caught my foot and I almost lost my balance, instead leaving behind my shoe._

I shot awake, the events from last night playing through my head again. Almost involuntarily my head moved toward the small table beside my cot. There sat the single crystal shoe that had been left when my godfather's spell faded. I wondered if The Prince, Jareth, would use the shoe that I had accidentally left in the garden to find me. That thought caused me to snort in an unladylike like manner.

"Something amusing?" Hoggle, my godfather, limped into the small room I shared with him and my friend Ludo.

"No. Just wayward thoughts of fancy." Another thought struck me like a bolt of lightning. "What time is it?"

"Almost noon." I panicked and tried to get out of bed, only to have Hoggle push me back down. "It's alright. We covered for ya'. Ludo and I we told Madam that you had worked after midnight and needed the rest if you were to preform to the best of your ability. She said you could sleep until noon but then you had to be up and working in the garden with me. Madam doesn't want you in the house when The Prince comes." He winked at me and hobbled out of the room.

My mind was racing as I dressed in a fresh, old dress that was suitable for gardening. Why was The Prince coming here? More questions passed through my head as I ran down the stairs and out into the garden to help Hoggle. Why wouldn't Madam want me in the house when she could easily say that I am a servant? Other thoughts continued as I weeded next to my godfather. Did this have something to do with last night? "Hoggle?"

"Hmm?" He stopped what he was doing to look at me.

I straitened as well and looked him in the eyes. "Why does Madam not want me in the house when The Prince comes today?"

Hoggle sighed. "The Prince has decreed that which ever girl in the Underground can fit the slipper he will bring to the house and answer a question that he will pose to them, will become his bride." He scrutinized me and noticed my blush. "You wouldn't have anything to do with this would you?"

I looked down. "When I was at the ball The Prince might have asked me to marry him and I might have left the slipper as I was running from him so he would not see your magic fade." Hoggle sighed at this.

"If The Prince really loved you he wouldn't have cared about your appearance. Now we have to get you into the house while he is there." I looked up to see Hoggle with his hands on his hips and an intense expression on his face.

"Sawa! Hoggle!" Ludo came lumbering up to us, snapping my godfather out of his planning. "The Prince is here. Madam want flowers for the dinning room." He was very pleased that he had delivered the message.

Hoggle beamed. "Thank you Ludo!" The beast beamed and lumbered off toward the stables where he worked for the most part. "This is your chance. The Prince said that any eligible young lady was to see him and Madam didn't say who was to bring the flowers." Hoggle went to work quickly and snipped enough flowers for several bouquets. He piled them into a basket that he practically shoved into my hands. "Go, and if you ever need us just call."

I made my way inside of the manor and headed toward the sitting room where, judging from the crying coming from there, Madam, her daughters, and guests were. My insides clenched at the thought of seeing Jareth again, wondering if he would like me as much when he knew that I was a servant. The door of the sitting room was in front of me, stealing my nerves I knocked.

"Come in." Madam's cruel voice rang out. I pushed the door in and peaked into the room. "What is it?"

Madam could see me from the couch where she was sitting, comforting her sobbing daughters. "I'm sorry Madam but you did not specify where the flowers you ordered were to go." The Prince and his companion, a small fox of a knight, turned at the sound of my voice. Jareth's eyes flared with recognition.

Without turning away from me he spoke to Madam. "Madam Karen, I thought you said that there were no other women of eligible age in the house."

Madam turned a light shade of red. "She is just a servant your majesty and was here all last night."

"I asked for all eligible women in the house, not just the nobility." Jareth's eyes did not leave my face as he came to stand in front of me. "Would you do me the honor of trying this slipper to see if it is yours." I nodded and he placed the slipper, which had been reverently held in his hand, down on the floor in front of me where it would be easy to get into. My foot fit perfectly into the crystal casing which Hoggle had fashioned the other evening. Jareth stood up and looked up from the slipper to my face. "I have one question for you. What was the last thing I said to you when I proposed?"

It was easy for me to reiterate what he had said word for word as they had been playing through my head all morning. "Fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave." I looked into Jareth's eyes to see a flash of triumph.

"I knew it was you. No one else has those eyes Sarah mine." He surprised me once again by taking me by the waist and spinning me around in the air. I laughed quietly at his exuberant reaction. When he set me down he pressed his forehead against mine. "Why did you run?"

"It was not fair for you to see me transform back into an ugly servant from the lady that you had met." I could not break contact with his eyes no matter how embarrassed I was.

Jareth laughed. "I wonder what your basis for comparison is because all I see is the beautiful woman I fell in love with."

Our moment was interrupted by Tory, Madam's oldest daughter. "Sarah can't have him mama!" Jareth and I looked over to see the Madam and her daughters standing in front of the couch they had been sitting on when I first entered the room.

"I'm sorry your highness, but my daughter is right. Sarah is a servant in my house and she will not be leaving servitude. Ever." Madam turned to me. "Go to your room girl and stay there until summoned."

"Madam, that is the future king and queen you are speaking to. I would advise you to hold your tongue." This outburst came from Jareth's companion. "If I have to fight you all to the death I will make it so that they can be happy together."

"Yes." This came from the doorway where Hoggle and Ludo had come to stand at some point during the goings on. "Sorry Madam, but when The Prince claimed Sarah as a bride you lost all power over her. She is now a free woman." Hoggle was indignant that anyone would try to keep me from a small piece of happiness.

"Sawa friend." Ludo had to add his part.

Madam glared at my godfather and friend. "Girl do as you're told or I will make you." She stormed toward me and I realized I needed to stand up for myself instead of cowering like I always had since I was a little girl.

I stepped forward, away from the protection of my friends and the royals. "You have no power over me. I am reclaiming my inheritance as the first born child of Robert Williams." Madam stopped mid stride. "You and your daughters may keep the house but all money and goods that belonged to my father I will take back."

Jareth stepped up beside me. "And I have a gift."

Madam narrowed her eyes. "What would you give a gift to us, former nobles who have been stripped of their title because of an ungrateful girl."

The knight handed Jareth three smooth crystal orbs. "It's a crystal. Nothing more. But if you turn it this way it will show you your dreams." He demonstrated the turning method. "Do you want them."

Madam had a greedy gleam in her eye. "Yes."

Jareth laughed as he tossed the orbs. One landed in front of each member of my adoptive family where upon their eyes became glazed and unfocused. The man beside me drew my attention away from the transfixed women. "Come my love. Leave them to their misery." He turned to his companion. "Sir Didymus, prepare Ambrosious for departure."

Sir Didymus bowed lowly. "Of course my prince." He walked out of the room, with Hoggle and Ludo following after him.

Jareth took my hand and lead my toward the door into the hall. Before I passed the threshold I looked back to see my step family still standing in front of the orbs. Jareth gave a gentle tug to my hand and I willingly followed, not looking back again. However if you do go back to the Williams' manor I believe Karen, Tory, and Aurora are still standing there, entranced by my husbands gifts to them.


End file.
